What Men Can Do to Support the Women’s Strike

My brothers, keeping in mind the weekend’s spot-on SNL sketch about "femi-bros", this week is a good time to turn to the ladies in your life. On March 8, a “day of action,” or women’s general strike is being called, initiated by a group of academics and activists who view it as not enough to simply oppose the president "and his aggressively misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic and racist policies. We also need to target the ongoing neoliberal attack on social provision and labor rights.” In addition to supporting women’s rights, the strike is in protest of violence against women, discrimination against the trans community, and the criminalization of immigration. The strike is about more than just Trump and more than just not going to work: Under the umbrella of “feminism for the 99%,” it’s an international movement, the first step of which will be Wednesday’s day of action (which will include civil disobedience, abstention from work, strikes at educational institutions and condemnations of politicians and corporations).

The movement is all-encompassing—caveat emptor—but let’s assume you’re a guy, and you’re on board, and you’d like to help. You know it’s a strike for women; how do you involve yourself without stepping on toes, or mansplaining activism? What’s a woke fella to do? (For the woke fellas short on time or otherwise disinclined to read an entire article, scroll down for a cheat sheet.)

“The idea of a women’s strike is what benefits the vast majority of women actually benefits society as a whole. So men should participate in the women’s strike not because they want to ‘help’ but because their liberation is tied up to the liberation of women,” says Dr. Tithi Bhattacharya, the director of global studies at Purdue and one of the organizers of the strike.

And men have, in fact, been part of this movement’s organization from the start. “There are men who have participated in the meetings and organizing,” says Dr. Cinzia Arruzza, another chief organizer. “They are doing this in a form of service: helping us, organizing the day, but without taking away the voice of the women who are the catalysts.”

When Wednesday arrives, there are concrete method methods of support that any guy can participate in. One is to assume the unpaid domestic duties normally carried out by women throughout the world. “Men, as partners of women, men as friends to women and comrades of women, in workplaces and home, can assume responsibility for care work and domestic labor on that day; that would be wonderful,” says Dr. Bhattacharya. “Do all the dishes, keep the house clean and make sure the children are picked up and fed and the seniors are cared for.”

Another is to get your union involved (“This is difficult to pull off,” Dr. Bhattacharya notes, “because union density in this country is so low”). If there’s a union in your workplace, it involves men and women alike. “They should organize side by side with each other, shoulder to shoulder,” says Dr. Bhattacharya. If you don’t have an official union, look to community groups and grassroots organizations (like immigration rights groups) that have both male and female members.

If you’re a student, the opportunities are endless. Actions are expected on campuses all across America and around the world. And not just colleges. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district in North Carolina has already canceled classes on March 8, acknowledging that they expect high teacher absences. If you’re a guy on a campus, you don’t need to be a paid grad student to participate. You can join in protests, marches, conventions, lectures and walkouts that will be occurring on campuses across the country.

Another way to support is with porn. Part of the platform is to support sex workers and defend them from exploitation. Wednesday will be a good day to firstly abstain from participating in activities that exploit sex workers (and not just porn) and secondly, to reflect on the kind of pornography etc. that you employ. Ask yourself if the people, especially the women, involved in what you watch are being exploited. How do you feel about that? As the war on drugs and a million other failed experiments have taught us: It never makes sense to attack supply. You have to go after demand. Do you know why the drug war is a terrible failure? Because people love getting high! Same with porn. They’re only going to make the porn that we’re watching.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you can help by raising awareness. You don’t need to march. You don’t need to donate. (Though both would be nice, of course.) You don’t need to donate your time. You can simply exclaim your support publicly: Talk about the issues with your friends, colleagues, church groups, and family. “The men in our lives and supporting our struggle express a clear stance against the marginalization of women,” says Dr. Arruzza. “They are encouraged to express publicly their support of the women’s strike and make clear they support the women’s demands. That they are not okay with the kind of gender relations that exist in our society. What we ask of them is that they take a strong position against male violence against women.”

For the organizers, Wednesday’s strike is not just about your public positions or whether you go to work or not. It’s about a new way of thinking, a rejection of “lean in” feminism as elitist, and an appreciation of a larger, global feminism that encompasses economics, politics, and human rights. “March 8 is not a culmination; it is the beginning of a new feminist movement. If it is successful, we can definitely talk about a new internationalist, anti-capitalist, feminism for the 99 percent,” says Dr. Bhattacharya, “where we talk about women’s rights for the vast majority of women, rather than women’s rights for the minority of women to become CEOs.”

Beyond one’s individual participation, it remains to be seen how Wednesday’s actions might affect you. Organizers have no idea if it will reach the numbers of the Women’s March, or if that’s even important. “I am feeling extremely excited and optimistic. The metric for judging this thing is impossible to assess right now,” says Dr. Bhattacharya. It’s about discourse, raising awareness, and the fact that so many people, men included, are part of the discussion. “Already—I don’t want to say [we] achieved our goal—we have created the conditions to have very productive conversations about resistance and political practice in this country.”

A Cheat Sheet for March 8—Ally Edition

Pick up the domestic slack: do the housework, feed the kids, babysit, prepare the meals, etc.

Organize a strike in your workplace; involve your union.

If you’re a student, join a walkout, participate in a convention or organized campus discussion on women’s and global rights, join a march.

Take a break from porn and do some soul-searching on what kind of pornography or sex work you support. Ask yourself, Am I contributing to the exploitation of sex workers?

Join protests, marches, go hear the speeches.

Spread awareness and make your support public. (Note: This does not mean post something to Twitter; do that, sure, but also talk to the people around you about what’s going on.)